The famed Rafale jets recently procured from France will soon be inducted in the Indian Air Force. The five aircraft were formally inducted in 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' of the Indian Air Force, at Ambala airbase with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Armed Forces of France Florence Parly taking part in the induction ceremony.
MS Dhoni, former India cricketer and an honorary Lieutenant in the territorial army, who rarely uses social media, took to his Twitter and lauded the induction of the new age flying machines in the IAF.
Sachin Tendulkar congratulates IAF for adding "state-of-the-art fighter jet Rafale" to its fleet
"With the Final Induction Ceremony, the world’s best combat-proven 4.5Gen fighter plane gets the world’s best fighter pilots. In the hands of our pilots and the mix of different aircraft with the IAF the potent bird’s lethality will only increase," he wrote.
He then wished the 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ all the best and hoped that Rafale beat the service record of Mirage 2000. He also revealed that his favorite fighter jets remain the Russian Sukhoi SU-30MKI.
"Wishing The Glorious 17 Squadron(Golden Arrows) all the very best and for all of us hope the Rafale beats the service record of the Mirage 2000 but Su30MKI remains my fav and the boys get new target to dogfight with and wait for BVR engagement till their upgrade to Super Sukhoi," he wrote in another tweet.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Ambala along with his French counterpart Florence Parly for the formal induction of the first batch of five fighter jets at the airbase. The two dignitaries attended the Sarv Dharma Pooja. Before arriving in Punjab, France's minister of armed forces received a ceremonial Guard of Honour in Delhi.
The fleet, comprising three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft, is being inducted into the IAF as part of its Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, also known as the 'Golden Arrows'. Induction of these new-age fighter jets gives India a huge advantage especially in the midst of border skirmishes with neighbors China.
